Cats

[rahmota]

Seshat: I guess so. I dont know. Cats are not one of my most favorite animals overall and they all stay outside at home here. Not to say they arnt useful or nice I guess. I'm partial to dogs though.

[Lace Neil Singer]

I could just as easily say that dogs weren't meant to be collared/leashed and are meant to run free.

Why should I have to spend extra money on candles and things to keep your cat out? You don't have to install extra things to keep my dog out. And really, how much money would you be willing to spend on that? I'm not particularly willing to spend a dime on it.
I shouldn't have to.

I used to have a neighbor that would get insanely angry at me because every time her cat decided to hang out on my property I'd spray it with a water gun. Didn't hurt the cat and I already owned the water gun. LOL

I wouldn't give 2 shits if you did that; my cat wouldn't, either; she doesn't mind water. And bramble sprays won't cost you a penny; you can go out when you walk your dog and cut a couple to take home with you. And your dog makes noise; the sound of it howling and barking means that in the summer, I can't have my windows open; same goes for your kids howling and screeching. The difference is, your kids/dog are disturbing everyone, not just me; my cat just wanders in your garden.

(not being nasty or attacking, btw; just answering the questions.)

[DesignFox]

I agree that cats in a neighborhood should be left indoors or leashed or confined to your own yard.

Cats are destructive. They dig up gardens, kill plants and shit anywhere they want. You can try deterrents, but eventually they fade or the cat gets used to it and ignores it. It is also extra work/money to have to protect your yard from a cat. It shouldn't be necessary and it isn't fair to do that to your neighbors.

Dogs on the other hand, may occasionally bark, but are not allowed to run wild and dig up gardens or shit on people's property.

Kids may occassionally make noise, but once taught properly, will not invade a yard or defecate in it.

So, I see a big difference.

Cats on the farm are a different thing. They have large enough territories to roam, so they don't go pestering the neighbors.

And at least at the barn I ride at, they are all spayed or neutered so in the event they contact a feral cat, there are no unwanted pregnancies.

I think no matter what the animal, it should be kept in your own space. It should not be allowed to wander wherever and do whatever to whoever. If you want a free-roaming animal, move to the stix where that sort of thing is allowed because everyone is so far away from one another that it doesn't matter, anyway!

But where people are crammed on top of one another...sorry...you should respect each other's limited space.

[Rubystars]

I live in a two story house, and one time I went upstairs at night and saw glowing eyes out the window. It made me jump, then I realized there was a cat on the roof looking in the window.

[Lace Neil Singer]

The cat haters here can't possibly ever see reason, cuz they dislike cats. And you obviously have not been round most neighbourhoods where the kids do roam, shrieking loudly and causing trouble. Not mine as such, but it does happen when gangs of kids terrorise the area. You're on very thin ground comparing a cat walking over your garden to gangs of yobs.

[Boozy]

And you obviously have not been round most neighbourhoods where the kids do roam, shrieking loudly and causing trouble.

The minute a roving gang of neighbourhood children trespass into my mother's backyard and tear the heads off birds right in front of her is the minute she calls the cops.

She has no such recourse with cats.

You're right, we can't compare cats and destructive children.

Cats can do what they'd like outside my property. Its their owner's job to ensure that they stay there.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Get a rabbit. I used to own a male rabbit who'd attack cats; unlike with dogs, there's no legal recourse that cat owners can take if a rabbit attacks your cat.

Or, buy a super soaker. The neighbours over the road have one for cats; my cat doesn't mind water but takes umbrage at being hit with a fast moving jet of water. She avoids that place.

Another note; cuz the neighbour who the cat does enter the garden a lot is a nasty arsehole who has been known to swear at children and call the police on trick or treaters, neither I or my parents feel much inclination to keep our cat out of there. Maybe it's your attitude that's the problem.

[AFPheonix]

Maybe it's different in the US than it is in the UK, but if a person owns an animal that invades another person's private property, and the person being invaded is not amused, it is the pet owner's responsibility to be a good steward of his animal and prevent it from annoying the other person.
I don't think it really matters what species the animal is.

[rahmota]

Well Like I've mentioned before. In my county here if your animal comes in my yard I am authorized and encouraged by the county sheriff's to kill the animal. And the legal repercussions are on the owner of the tresspassing animal not the one who was tresspassed upon.

So basically if your cat comes on my property and my dog kills it, eats it , maims it or whatever or I plug it with a .22lr and you go crying to the sheriff they will either A: laugh at you, B: tell you to buzz off , C: ticket you for allowing your animal to run loose and tresspass on other people's property or D: all of the above. It is the animal owners responsibility and fault if the animal goes on someone elses property. I like it like that.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Not over here it's not. Over here, a cat is classed as a wild animal, which is a two edged sword; if someone runs your cat over, they don't have to tell you, but if your cat goes and craps on their prize dahlias, they can't do shit.

The cat hatred is kind of worrying; what happen, did a cat piss in your wheaties when you were a rugrat? O.o

[rahmota]

Actually the county ordinance is not about cats specifically or hatred of any animals per se... Its more about protecting livestock (which is worth a lot, lot more than any housecat could ever hope to aspire to) which is a means of livelyhood for many people in this county.

Also it is about taking personal responsibility for your animals. I mean a person here lets their dog or cat run into their neighbor's yard and the animal does damage in the neighbors yard or otherwise causes an issue that neighbor could successfully get the animal's owner to pay for the damages or get the animal removed if the owner will not control it, assuming the animal doesnt meet up with an accident before the animal control guy can get around to taking it.

Personally I dont particularly like or dislike cats. They are okay I guess, just not as good or useful or enjoyable to own as dogs. IMO. I definately wouldnt classify it as hatred.

[AFPheonix]

I like my cats a lot. I guess Americans are just more overprotective of their housepets or something. My cats get away with moseying about because my nearest neighbor is 1/4 to 1/2 mile away, and they don't wander that far away. (fat lazy boys)
But like I said before, if I had them in my apartment with me, I wouldn't be letting them out unattended. There's too many retards in this neighborhood who apparently are willing to take a shit on my husband's car. Goodness only knows what they'd do if they come across my beloved cat.

[Luna]

I spose it all depends on where you live and if you love one animal more than another. I love all animals. if I had a house instead of an apartment, I would definately have a dog as well as my cats. One of my neighbors has a big dog. We're not even allowed to have pets in our complex, but he isn't turning me in so I'm not turning him in either.

The problem is his dog will try to tackle you down to play. You have to constantly be on the lookout when entering or leaving your apartment b/c the dog is allowed to run wild all over the place with no collar or leash.

There are quite a few strays around here. A little family moved in the cellar at the end of my building. Mommy cat with 3 kittens. They're shy, but I'm a sap so I bought a bag of store brand dry food and I leave some food out for them. Having cats around in an apartment means no rats! I like that. I came downstairs today to deliver my laundry for cleaning and there was the dog - his face in the bowl of cat food I had just set out for the starving kitties. Poor kitties are in the tree, all skin and bones crying. I found the guy and asked him to please not let the dog run around wild and he then called the dog over. As soon as i dropped off my laundry and walked back to my building, I saw the dog running around the parking lot again - leash free.

I think it depends on the owners of the animals - not the animals themselves. My kitties are fixed and are indoors, fat and happy. They are not declawed though. Don't even get me on that subject.

[BroomJockey]

I don't hate cats by any means. But if I had one continually on my property doing anything I didn't approve of, I'd do one call to the owner, if I knew who, then after that I'd get a humane cage, trap the sucker, and take it to the pound. Then let the owner deal with it. A cat is exactly like a dog in my opinion. If someone's decided to own it, they can own its actions too. I shouldn't have to take steps to keep your animal out of my yard, dog OR cat.

[DesignFox]

I agree with BroomJockey. I never said I hated cats (actually, I love kitties quite a lot!). But I don't believe they should be allowed to roam the neighborhood and tear up other people's yards. And while I don't set up traps personally, I've known other people to do so.